Franco-Russian Alliance Military Convention
3.1202 Franco-Russian Alliance Military Con-
vention
Alliance Members:France and Russia
Signed On:December 27, 1893, in the city of St. Petersburg. In force
until November 8, 1917.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Key Treaties for the Great Powers, 1814–1914,vol. 2, p. 668.
SUMMARY
Franco-Russian relations had been characterized by increasing friend-
liness and an increasing convergence of interests since 1891. With the
Central Powers coalescing around Germany and the Triple Alliance, an
increasingly isolated France sought to bolster its position against the
German bloc by signing a defensive alliance with Russia in 1893.
Although the Central Powers likely feared a Franco-Russian friendship
prior to the signing of the treaty, the formalization of the relationship
nonetheless played a key role in increasing tensions prior to World
War I.
The alliance structure proved sufficiently durable to hold Russia only
until the Bolshevik revolution. After gaining power, Lenin negotiated a
separate peace, pulling Russia out of the war and, consequently, the
alliance.
The draft text of this treaty was completed in August of 1893 by the
Russian and French general staffs. A note from the Russian foreign
minister to the French ambassador confirmed acceptance of the
alliance.
Alliance Text
France and Russia, being animated by a common desire to pre-
serve peace, and having no other object than to meet the neces-
sities of a defensive war, provoked by an attack of the forces of
the Triple Alliance against the one or the other of them, have
agreed upon the following provisions:
I. If France is attacked by Germany, or by Italy supported by
Germany, Russia shall employ all her available forces to attack
Germany.
If Russia is attacked by Germany, or by Austria supported by
Germany, France shall employ all her available forces to attack
Germany.
- In case the forces of the Triple Alliance, or of one of the
Powers composing it, should mobilized, France and Russia, at
the first news of this event and without the necessity of any pre-
vious concert, shall mobilize immediately and simultaneously
the whole of their forces and shall move them as close as possi-
ble to their frontiers. - The available forces to be employed against Germany shall
be, on the part of France, 1,300,000 men, on the part of Russia,
700,000 or 800,000 men.
These forces shall engage to the full, with all speed, in order
that Germany may have to fight simultaneously on the East and
on the West. - The General Staffs of the Armies of the two countries shall
cooperate with each other at all times in the preparation and
facilitation of the execution of the measures above foreseen.
They shall communicate to each other, while there is still
peace, all information relative to the armies of the Triple
Alliance which is or shall be within their knowledge.
Ways and means of corresponding in times of war shall be
studied and arranged in advance.- France and Russia shall not conclude peace separately.
- The present Convention shall have the same duration as
the Triple Alliance. - All the clauses enumerated above shall be kept rigorously
secret.
Signature of the Minister:
General Aide-de-Camp,
Chief of the General Staff,
Signed: OBRUCHEFF.
Signature of the Minister:
General of Division,
Councillor of State,
Sub-Chief of the General Staff of the Army,
Signed: BOISDEFFRE.3.1203 Treaty of Alliance between Korea and Japan
Alliance Members:Korea and Japan
Signed On:August 26, 1894, in the city of Seoul. In force until April
17, 1895.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Key Treaties for the Great Powers, 1814–1914,vol. 2, p. 670.SUMMARY
On its way to the great power status that would soon lead to a con-
frontation with Russia at the turn of the century, Japan contested
China for control of Korea in 1894. In August of 1894 Japan signed a
defensive pact with Korea as a first step to ending Chinese influence
on the peninsula, pledging to protect Korea’s independence and to
achieve the final expulsion of Chinese soldiers from its territory.
After the Chinese-engineered assassination of the Korean head of state
and the continuing harassment of Korean citizens through frequent
arrests, Japan activated the terms of the treaty and declared war on
China in 1894. A swift Japanese victory led to the signing of the Treaty
of Shimonoseki in the spring of 1895, which forced China to recognize
Korean independence. The end of the war also brought an end to the
Korean-Japanese alliance, as its goal of ejecting Chinese troops had
been achieved.Alliance Text
In view of the fact that on the 25th of July, 1894, the Korean
Government entrusted His Imperial Majesty’s Envoy Extraordi-
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Söul, Korea, with the
expulsion, on their behalf, of Chinese soldiers from Korean ter-
ritory, the Governments of Japan and Korea have been placed in
a situation to give mutual assistance both offensive and